Figurés

Figurés is a French term formed from the adjective figuré, meaning depicted or represented. In standard French, figuré is masculine singular; figurés is its masculine plural form (and figurée/figurées are the feminine forms). In practice, figurés is used primarily as an adjective, but in some academic contexts it functions as a nominal phrase meaning “the depicted figures” or “the figurative elements” of a work.

In art history, iconography, and archaeology, figurés commonly describes elements that are human or animal figures within an image, relief, painting, or manuscript. The term helps distinguish figurative or representational elements from non-figurative ones such as landscapes, backgrounds, or abstract motifs. The corresponding contrasts can appear in catalogues, connoisseurship notes, and analysis of compositional structure.

Etymologically, figuré derives from figurer, itself from Latin figura, meaning form or image. The plural figurés therefore literally denotes multiple depicted figures or figurative elements.

Usage notes and variants:

- Figurés is typically used in French-language scholarship. English-language writers often render the idea with figures, depicted figures, or figurative elements rather than adopting figurés as a standard term.

- The feminine forms figurée/figurées follow standard gender agreement rules in French and may be encountered when the noun or subject is feminine.

See also:

- Figurative language and figurativeness in linguistics

- Figure (art), iconography, and figuration

- French word formation around figurer

Figurés, as a term, highlights the representational components of an image, serving as a precise descriptor in discussions of composition and iconography within French scholarly discourse.